Tapestry Development Group Named ATL Challenge Winner

On June 7, the winner of ATL Challenge was announced at the first quarterly Atlanta Regional Housing Forum of 2017. Tapestry Development Group was selected as the winner based on its proposal to address a major challenge for the owners of affordable multi-family homes: how to pay for improvements and still keep these homes affordable. Tapestry’s innovative approach would enable property owners to access low-interest funds for moderate rehabilitation and provide construction management services in exchange for locking in the current affordability levels during the loan repayment period. These properties serve residents at or below 80 percent of the Atlanta area median income (AMI), or roughly $48,000.

“There is a significant and growing need for affordable housing in Atlanta and across Georgia,” said Meaghan Shannon-Vlkovic, vice president and Southeast market leader, Enterprise. “A critical element in addressing this need will be preserving the affordable homes that already exist. Tapestry Development Group has proposed an innovative, efficient idea to do just that. I look forward to watching their proposal come to life and help working people enjoy affordable homes.”

Tapestry was one of three finalists were selected in January to receive $10,000 to further develop their proposals, and will receive $70,000 to support implementation. The ATL Challenge and the award funds are made possible through the generous support of the JP Morgan Chase Foundation.

“We are honored to be selected as the winner of the Atlanta Affordable Housing Preservation Challenge,” said Jon Toppen, managing principal, Tapestry Development Group. “We focused on developing best practices through case study analysis of existing moderate rehabilitation programs and addressing the challenges owners of smaller properties often face integrated this critical research into our final proposal which we look forward to implementing with the award’s support.”